Help the Helpless Children

In Bangladesh about 20% of total 160 million people are adolescent girls (32 million).These girls are marginalized by the socially constructed vulnerabilities. This young group of girls, illiterate as a result of dropping out of schools at a young age becomes unproductive members of the family. They are considered a burden by their poor parents. The girls are often led into early marriages. It is not uncommon to see girls married off so young that they will bear their first child before they turn 15 years. This causes serious health hazards. It can be fatal for both the new born and the adolescent mother. Physically weak and unable to serve in the in-law’s family many of the adolescent mothers would be divorced and sent back to their parents with their children. Domestic violence manifests in early marriages. The culture of social seclusion and legal discrimination reinforce women vulnerability, especially women from the poor and marginalized community. It is noted that nearly 60.6% of the adolescents are forced to drop out of schools before completing their studies due to economic hardship of their parents. Lack of education limits their opportunities to lead a good life, and to be counted and positioned as leaders of the next generation. Though Bangladesh has a high enrollment of children into primary school, with an equal number of boys and girls, a staggering 32% will drop out before they finish primary school.
Young boys who drop out from schooling will engage in any some form of income earning activities, like helping parents in the field, working as agriculture laborers or engaged in petty retailing business.